Sleeping and Eating

Some good news and some bad news.

So, I am happy to continue breastfeeding my toddler.  We both love it.  It is "work" for me, but also very rewarding and beneficial for her.  Cordelia nurses when she wakes up and before she goes to bed. If I am home I will nurse her when she wakes up from her nap.  Sometimes, she asks for a late afternoon milk session, usually by bringing me the nursing pillow and saying "Mmirh."

For months our routine for bedtime has been for me to nurse her in our dark bedroom and then she will fall asleep at the boob.  She usually keeps drinking a while in her sleep.  For a while, it was cutting down to almost as little as 30 mins for her to go to sleep.  But lately, she has been getting distracted more easily, and then returning to nurse more, and then rolling off to try and play or just lie on the bed.  She does not fall asleep on the bed easily.  She rolls and thrashes and gets up a lot.  Sometimes, she eventually lies down and I can kind of stroke her forehead until she goes to sleep. But it is a lot of work and takes a lot of time for her to go down this way.  And then transfer her to her crib, which has been going pretty well most days, but sometimes still fails.

So on nights when Cordelia is extra playful, I have given up and just put her in her crib.  As you might expect, the result is screams.  Sometimes when she realizes what is happening, she stands up in her crib and reaches up for me to hug her, saying, "Mama.  Up."  How tragic and heart breaking is that?

But the last few times, knowing she was fed and dry and needing to go to sleep, I have left her in her dark room.  She is able to put herself to sleep for her naps now, with minimal to no crying, this is not too different.  At first, she cried maybe 30 mins.  Then 15-20.  Then maybe 10.  Then last night, she fell asleep in our room with me, but woke up when I transferred her.  She stood up and cried for maybe 5 minutes but then lay back down and slept through the night!  (She has also had to have a bit of tylenol because she is teething like crazy).

I just put her in her crib for a nap, with the routine books of 10 Little Ladybugs and You Are My Sunshine and she did not even cry at all when I left.  She read books, played with her kitties, and then lay down to sleep!

Go C Go!

Even though I don't believe in "cry it out" for little ones, it is easier now that she is older and I KNOW as a parent that she can do it.  And this is how cry it out is supposed to work with gradual less and less crying each night, right?  Eventually, she was ready to learn some better sleeping habits.  Hopefully things will not change now that I've written this.

In the bad news department, I also got mastitis again. WTF.

Is it the switch between vacation nursing and back to work pumping?  I don't know what messed me up, but Tuesday afternoon I was feeling terrible and finally realized I had red streaks.  I thought my boobs were just tender from being suctioned by the pump after a break.  I had fever and chills.  No fun. No obvious back up or plugged duct, but there was an area of knotted tissue, where the infection was.  Back to school prep week is the WORST time to be sick.  I was able to get a phone appointment and antibiotics without having to go it… no time for that when staging a classroom!

It wasn't too bad overall, especially once I started the meds.  I just need to remember to take them 4 times a day.  No slacking or forgetting!  It is hard because they have to be on an empty stomach: 2-3 hours after eating and 1 hour before.  Don't they know I eat every 3 hours?  By the time I'm supposed to take a pill, I'm hungry again.

I started having weird heartburn last night after I took a pill.  Did I swallow it wrong some how?  That was so uncomfortable, now I know how my mom feels a lot!

I was going to write about her eating habits too, but not enough time.  She has been throwing food a lot at the table.  Ah, toddlerhood!

15 Months

I wish I had 3 more weeks of vacation!

C and I bonded so much during our days together.  I feel like when I  don't have to leave her, she starts to just RELAX.  So comfortable and secure.  

Vacation events:

-Shopping at Ikea

-Shopping and Dinner with Auntie Gillian and Mommy in Berkeley.  Cordelia really liked dinner at the Mediterranean restaurant, where dada also joined us!

-A playdate with Anabelle

-Visiting Dada at Camp Awesome

-A morning visit to a park

-Seeing lots of fishies and sharks at the Bay Aquarium.  Cordelia was fascinated by everything.  Her favorite part though was the river otters.  It was their feeding time, so they were running back and forth, back and forth, back and forth right in front of the door to their glass cage.  Which was right at eye level where Cordelia was standing.  She started giggling hysterically as they would run by and every so often  stop directly in front of her.  She laughed and laughed.

-We had an earthquake Sunday morning (3:20 am).  It was a 6.0, about 20 miles away.  Big shaker!  Cordelia slept through it but was awakened by mama and dada coming into her room.  It took her an hour and a half to go back to sleep.  She wanted to play and eventually we just had to put her in her bed.  It took a bit of time and some crying, but she did put herself to sleep.  She did the same tonight!

Cordelia likes to walk places and gets mad when she has to be carried or moved when she's not ready.  

She likes to point out people's shoes and say "shoes."  Though it sounds more like "ooo hs"

When she wants to wash her hands, she says "ssshhh."  It is like she is trying to say "wash" or also making the sound of the water.  She points at the sink and says "shhhh".

If you mention teeth brushing, she goes to the bathroom and wants to brush her teeth.  If you mention going on a walk, she goes to the door and tries to open it.  

She surprised me a few days ago.  I had her sitting in a plastic box, pretending it was a choo choo train. I said, "On your mark. . . Get set. . ." And Cordelia said, "Go!"  She did it a few times for a day but then started to want us to say "go".  She would look at us expectantly, waiting for us to say it.  The funny thing was, we had never said "On your mark, get set, go!" with her before.  It was something she must have learned at Meme's House!  She also says both Meme and Papa's names now!

She started eating yogurt with a spoon.  She does pretty well.  She has also started tossing unwanted food on the floor.  Trying to dissuade her from this.  

Love our snuggle baby! Every day I am in awe of her cuteness.

 

Last Day As A Toddler Teacher...

Tomorrow is my last day as a toddler teacher at my school.  But I will have a toddler at home full time! We have started calling Cordelia Coco a bit.  We met someone at a party whose Great Aunt Cordelia went by Coco.  Jason and I were surprised by how much we liked it.  I often sing, "Coco bean, Coco bean, where o where has Coco been?"  She seems to like it too.  I do try and call her Cordelia a lot though. It is her name and must get used!

The other night she started saying "shoes".  We also read a book about a dog making a sandwich, alternating bread and cheese. She read the book to herself saying, "bre."  "shees."  She can say "eyes" and "nose" and identify "ears."   Today she climbed to the top the smaller cat tree.

She has been teething again, getting her second bottom molar in.  It has given her a lot of discomfort. She doesn't like chew toys, but has been using a raspberry shaped pacifier (bumpy texture).  It is kinda weird seeing her with a paci in her mouth.  It's like, is that my baby?  She doesn't use it for long, but it makes her seem littler.  I think her tooth is just breaking through, so hopefully she will sleep better tonight without needing tylenol!  We can hope!

I cleaned our kitchen tonight.  FILTH FILTH FILTH.  Ug, you don't even want to know.  Jason's main chores are dishes and laundry and I am in charge of vacuuming, mopping, and scrubbing any surfaces.  Also putting away junk and scooping cat litter. Anyway, I have not wiped down surfaces like kitchen counters and the microwave in… I don't even want to think about how long.  Yick.  Hopefully C will sleep well and I can do more cleaning on my vacation.

One more day of school.  Then vacation.  A whole week I don't have to leave my baby girl.  Can't get to it fast enough!  

14 Months

Finding Time To Make a Post!

Cordelia is a full on Toddler now.  She is getting braver and more adventurous, exploring all the time.  She is starting to sit on or ride on toys and rockers that used to scare her or make her nervous.  She walks everywhere, leading the charge!  We had to buy her some shoes at last.  We followed our sister-in-law's advice that Stride Rite was the brand to go with, worth the extra money.  I looked at a lot of baby shoes and I don't like how some are just mini versions of adult shoes, like Toms, converse, or sketchers.  Like, I think they're ok for bigger feet, but maybe there should be some change… shoes should be specially designed for early walkers!!  When we first went in the store, we told the Stride Rite sales girl that C was walking.  She pointed us to these super clunky shoes and sandals.  I felt they were too heavy for her little baby feet.  I then looked at their "cruiser" shoes and they were much softer and more flexible, with the rubber sole so kids can still feel the ground beneath them.  Yup.  That is what I was looking for.  So I ignored the sales girl and asked for the softer shoes.  They are great, only wish there were less girly girly colors.  We got white with light pink accents and butterflies on the side.  Pretty cute!  Cordelia is wearing bigger shoes than even her cousin Rocky.  They measured her at size 5, I think, and recommended we get her a 5.5 for room to grow.  But I think the shoes we ended up buying (maybe sizes were limited, I can't remember?) were a full 6.  Rocky is still in 4.5.  Ahhh, my daughter of the big feet!!  She is gonna be a tall one!

We got the shoes just in time because the next weekend we were very busy.  We made our annual family trip to the State Fair in Sacramento.  Cordelia slept in the car and refused to nap the rest of the day.  It was crazy doing something with C that we had done the previous year, when she was 2 months old.  Just the idea that there were things we did "this time last year" exists for her now is kind of boggling.  It was hot, but not unbearable, especially in the shade or the air-conditioned shopping halls.  I let Cordelia taste soft serve ice cream for the first time.  She like it, but wasn't crazy for it.  Maybe a little cold for her mouth?  She liked it on the spoon, but wouldn't lick my ice cream cone.

The next day we had my teacher-play date, for which we took on of the toddlers from my work to Tilden Park's Little Farm.  It was fun getting to spend time with her parents who are lovely and call Cordelia a mini-me of their daughter.  They DO look like they could be sisters.  

Earlier in the month, we made a 4th of July trip to LA.  C did GREAT on the drive, waking up in confusion when we stopped for gas or bathroom breaks, and she had a hard time falling back to sleep once we reached my parents house.  But overall, she slept pretty well in their pack-in-play.  She walked ALL AROUND their house.  It was very fun.  She even wanted to go up and down stairs.  One of the best parts was we took her swimming in their pool.  Cordelia enjoyed it a lot, especially playing with the little waterfall between the hot tub and the pool.  We did not go see any fireworks, and fortunately Cordelia slept through those going off in the neighborhood.  On the way back up, we stopped to see Auntie Alison and her BF Michael for lunch.  And more importantly, Michael's dog.  Cordelia loved watching Bodie catch a Frisbee, which she and Bodie both identified as a "ball."  Despite her love of dogs, Cordelia is not so sure she wants one too close to her.  She much prefers to watch them.

Cats, on the other hand, she will approach happily, thanks to her familiarity with our two.  Alex told me to record Cordelia saying "Wih-wo" before her adorable pronunciation changes too much.  I'm glad I did, her pronunciation is already getting clearer, more evidently "Willow."  Cordelia can also identify "Belle."  However, she seems to mix up her words for the cats sometimes.  For a long time, she would call Belle Willow, but lately she suddenly seems to be saying "Belle" more, even for Willow.  I think she truly knows which cat is which, she just sometimes doesn't think about it too hard so labels them together.  Willow is her favorite to play with, but she loves to watch Belle begging at the table during dinner.

Cordelia wants to be more independent.  She likes to brush her hair, brush her teeth, and try and put her feet on her shoes.  She has seen how certain things are used and wants to copy us.

Her vocabulary is growing.  Sometimes it seems really rapid, other times it feels like it's been a while since she said something new.  And then BOOM she surprises you with something.  She is always listening and absorbing.  I should be keeping a list, but I don't remember the order.  Here are some of the other things she says now.  She MEOWS for cats, says BAA for sheep, and OO OO AH AH for her stuffed money.  She says  NANA for bananas.  Sometimes she has said "nose" and (more clearly) eyes (as she tries to poke me in the eye or grab my glasses).  She has said PAPA for Jason's dad.  She says Ba-oo for Peek a book.  Yes, she plays peek a boo like a pro.  She hides in the corner of her play area and pops out at us.  Last night after her bath, she took the towel and hid under it and played peek a boo many times with me.  I started to scream in surprise when she showed herself.  She loved it and when she got up from the changing table she gave me a big hug.  It was the best hug, a real embrace and I could feel she did it because she was so happy having fun with me.  She sometimes gives kisses.   She sometimes pushes us away.  And we hear NO.  A lot.  Or she shakes her head and refuses things (like water cups and mommy's boobie.)  Ah yes, that reminds me.  Cordelia is still nursing, but in the mornings sometimes she doesn't drink enough and I have to encourage her to have more to be comfortable.  I have started taking only one pump break at last, a 2:30.  I still have my morning half hour and I have been able to do things like GO OUTSIDE and shop at the thrift store.  Just being outside is incredible, after all the months of being shut up in my corner.  Ahhhhhhh.  Cordelia still nurses at night, falling asleep at the boob.  This is probably not good for her teeth (milk teeth decay), but she is not ready to stop.  I have to take her off with my finger once she is out.  And be careful of all those teeth.  (Nine now; first bottom molar came through just the other week!  Another on its way).  Cordelia has started saying milk too.  It is hard to write down how she pronounces it.  She pats my breast and gives it a little jiggle, and says, "Mehrr".  There is an upward lilt to it.

That's all I've got time for, love our girl so much!    

13 Months

Now we have a one year old in the house!!

Cordelia started taking more and more steps and is now getting good at walking!  Yesterday I was noticing she walked all around and barely did any crawling or cruising.  She prefers to be upright now, just like a big kid.  All the time we are seeing what a big kid she can be!  

I think by two weeks after her birthday, she had 8 teeth.  Before she had 5.  So those last three teeth were some work, but not too bad.  She has some coming in under the gums too, but they are further back, so it's hard to check up on them.  A few times I have felt them with my finger.  

Cordelia has been eating all kinds of food. My eating goals for Cordelia are "Eat the Rainbow" and "Fresh is Best."  I am trying to give her really healthy foods.  I even made Jason get whole grain pasta and tortillas.  I didn't even give her real cake for her birthday, even though both Grandmas wanted to get her cupcakes.  At her party, I made a banana cake with cream cheese frosting, decorated with some blueberries.  But it got put in the refrigerator during the course of the party and by the time we brought it out the frosting had kinda hardened back up into cream cheese and was all cold.  Whoops.  C ate some of it, but mostly just picked the blue berries off.  No big cake smashing.  I just really want C to eat healthy food, especially when she is so young.  There's no reason to give her junk food and get her liking it so early.  She can have some when she's a little bigger…. I won't be as strict as my friend's baby who just turned 2 and has never had a cookie!  Lol.  But that mom has reason to be very concerned about allergies as well.  I heard a parent at school say, "I refuse to concede any allergies," about his daughter.  I agree.  I don't want Cordelia to have any allergies either and I refuse to believe she has any!!! (unless obvious evidence, of course)  I want C to be able to eat without fear.  It has even made me feel like it might be ok for her to have a little red meat, whereas before I was thinking probably just chicken.  Why limit her too much?  There are lots of good things out there that people see and think, "I would like to eat that."  Like a pineapple.  So spiky on the outside, who'd think it was good eating?  But mmmm, delicious.  Or maybe she'll like frog legs or something.  LOL.  That being said, as long as their fresh.  Yes, fresh is best….. as little preservatives, yucky fats, excess salt, and empty carbs as possible.  We have given C many fruits and veggies and eggs, but have yet to try cow's milk.  She is having cheese and recently yogurt, so she's starting to get more dairy that way.

Cordelia has a lovey now.  Some friends gave her a stuffed cat on her birthday.  It is gray and white, so it somewhat resembles Willow.  Cordelia named it Meow, since she has started saying the sound cats make, instead of the word.  Cordelia loves Meow.  Meow is a girl since Willow and Miss Belle are also girls.  Cordelia likes to take Meow everywhere and she has really helped her walking, since she seems to walk best when holding something in her arms.  It distracts her from thinking she needs to hold on to something for support.  Cordelia likes to sleep with Meow and play with her.  She sometimes chews the tail a little bit.  She likes to have Meow in her carseat.  Meow is a larger stuffie for a baby to have, so it sometimes is hard to take her away to buckle C up!  

 

Cordelia started Camp Meme two weeks ago.  Dad is working longer days, so my mother-in-law is watching her for long days all summer.  It is tough on her to have less time with mom and dad, but she is loving being with Meme.  She does not even cry when she gets dropped off.  She sometimes gets to play with her cousins there too.  Her uncle this week got them all shirts that say Camp Meme.  So cute. C is doing great, except for naps.  The first week, she would nap at home with dada and then not take an afternoon nap.  This last week, with her there for extra-extra-long days (9-5:30), she was only taking one afternoon nap with Meme.  That seemed to go well and… she was also sleeping through the night. It seems really early for her to go down to just one nap, but it is helping her night sleep so so much.  She is tired though… ah well, my kid is always sleep deprived, she has never been a good sleeper.  It still takes her forever to fall asleep in her crib if she doesn't fall asleep nursing.  She has also been drinking less Mommy Milk.  Sometimes only taking one bottle.  I'm still pumping twice a day, but making less milk. I may go down to one break, we'll see. :(

That's all for now!

One Year Old

Well, I didn't keep up with the blog lately, but just a quick check in for C's first birthday.  I can't believe I have a 1 year old.  So much time, so much learning and growth, and yet it all went by so quickly.

C started talking at 10 months and now says CAT, DOG, BALL, MAMA, DADA, BEAR, DUCK, YEAH, NO, UH-OH, HI, BABY, and WILLOW.  She may have also said bye and bird.  And tonight (one year and a day old) she did the baby sign language for "more" for more raspberries.  She tried raspberries on Monday and did not like them, but today is Thursday and third time's the charm!  She is nuts for blue berries.

Watching her language develop has been amazing.  The night when she started saying "ball" over and over again was amazing, and then she would identify balls everywhere, even the big red ones outside Target.  I wanted to write it all down, like how she heard dogs barking outside and then saw the dog card from Emmy and was just identifying dogs everywhere.  For a while she just panted, but then started saying "dog" too.  She thinks most animals are dogs or cats.  Even though she said Bear for a bit, some of the bears in her favorite book More Bears were later identified as "dogs."  We went to the zoo for Mother's Day.  The giant tortoises were dogs.  The siamad ape was a cat.  I wanted to know what she would say about the river otters, but she didn't get a good look.

She sleeps in her bed most nights, with occasional side trips to Mommy and Daddy's bed if we are too tired.  At 11 months we started putting books in her crib and she has started falling asleep for some naps by herself.  Without help.  But we do have to lie on the floor near by so she doesn't freak out that she's alone.  But it is still a major break through that took 11 months to get to!!

I once despaired that C would ever learn to self-feed, but she is a pro at it now.  I like giving her table food and she is getting pretty adventurous!

Teething has been really bad this last month and she still didn't get the 6th tooth in before her birthday.  I feel like her body was working so hard on it that it just gave up.  The tooth descended for a while and then her body was like, ok, that's enough torture, let's move on to something else!  But now we may have some bottom teeth coming next.

Cordelia has not walked yet, but she takes little steps while barely touching something for support.  She loves to cruise and crawl.  She loves to laugh and loves her kitties.  She asks to go outside and look for dogs.  She loves books like crazy.

What a wild and wonderful year, Cordelia!  You are a treasure and I feel so blessed to snuggle you in my arms.  You could not be more dear to me, and forever and always my baby you'll be.  Happy Birthday.

10 Months and Family Visit!

Cordelia has turned 10 months old and is having an eruption of teeth!  On the 18th, she got her left front tooth (central incisor).  A few days later she got right side (lateral incisor).  I thought it was a little strange that it came in before the right side central incisor, though that one showed up in the next week or so, over my spring break I think.

On her 10 month Bday, it was also Jason and my 5 year anniversary!  Unfortunately, they were in a car accident and got rear ended.  Fortunately, they were ok.  But our new car wasn't.  The driver did not have insurance and had an expired license, so it turned our our insurance covered everything.  They also wanted to replace our car seat, as once it has been in an accident it's warranty is no longer good.  We went back and forth trying to decide if we wanted to replace her infant seat with an identical one or upgrade to a convertble car seat.  We decided to get her a bigger one.  It seems silly to get her an infant one when she will outgrow it in a matter of months.  But I will miss the convenience of being able to strap her in and tote her around.  And being able to move her in and out of the car if she has dozed off, given how easily she wakes up.

My parents finally visited!  My sisters came too, so it was a whole family gathering.  I was glad we could show them our new place and have enough room for everyone to sleep, if not in the most comfort (couch, sleeping bags; floor mat; air mattress all in use).  Cordelia had a blast playing with everyone.  It was during this weekend that she went book crazy!  Of course, having all the Turtledoves around to read to her helped.  She loved reading a Tomie DePaola book my mom found of nursery rhymes.  She loved looking at the sheep and also the cat and the dog illustrations in the "Baa Baa Black Sheep."  One time she picked up the book and said, "baa, baa".  So now I call it the "Baa Baa Book."  She also started loving the Matthew Van Fleet book CATS.  In Peek-a-Who? she loves the Zoo animals page, and also kisses her reflection when she gets to the mirror page at the end.

I played a Dan Zanes cd from Heidi and she started boogying to Rock Island Line.  It made us all crack up laughing.  She has also boogied to Happy, the song that is really popular right now.  I put a video clip of her dancing to it and then pointing to my mug of tea and saying "Cat."  At least, it really sounds like cat.  It also seemed like she was saying dog all weekend.  When she sees a dog, she starts panting.  How does she know to do that?  Sometimes she repeats noises or words.  Like, we vacuumed the front porch and she started buzzing!We have also played a game where you touch fingers and go "BZZZ" like you have an electric shock!  And she can BZZZ!

She also gives high fives now.  She has balanced for a few seconds without holding onto anything, but she can't yet stand on her own.  She is very good at waving.  She sleeps in her crib, sometimes all night!

This morning, she cried when I had to leave for work.

Waving and Pointing

Just now... I closed my laptop so she couldn't look at it.  I said bye bye computer.  And waved.  And then she started waving.  And I said bye bye.  And she said. "Buh!..... "Buh!"  She did it a couple of times and we waved a lot.  Then I pointed to sleeping LBC with one finger and said "Kitty."  And she changed from waving and pointed with one finger!!!!

I hope some words are on their way!  I know teeth are!!! I can see them!

She was up in the night fussing and fussing.  We gave up and gave her some tylenol, we were all very tired!

Pat the Sheep and Sounding Like Real Words

Last night and this morning we read a touch and feel book about Animals On The Farm.  Pretty standard, nothing too special... chicks, horses, piglets, a farm dog, and a sheep.  The wooly sheep has nice cushiony cottony fur to feel.  When Cordelia pats the sheep, she giggles.  Does the touch surprise her?   She also likes it when I "baaaa," but I noticed the giggling particularly on this page, rather than the other animals.  It must feel nice.

Cordelia is starting to say some "words."  She says "doh" and "no" and "yah."  On the phone we talked on speaker phone about what to buy at the grocery store.  "Apples?"  "Yah."  "Bread?"  "Yah."  "Broccoli?"  "No."  It sounded like a real conversation.

Last night I was holding her and I said "Doh." and she repeated it.  Then I changed to saying "Yeah." and she said "yah!"  She must be starting to imitate sounds!  It is amazing.

This morning Jason was changing her diaper and she was fussing about it.  Then she cried, "Daaa daaa!"  It sounded just like she was complaining, nook dada don't change my diaper!  I got very excited and I've been trying to get her to repeat Daadaa.

She is starting to point at things a bit with her pointer finger!  But kinda like her "waving", I don't know how intentional it is, without understanding the full social implications.

Oh and at the end of the last entry, I mentioned that C was back in the crib at night.  Well, 9 months was finally the age where she started to figure stuff out.  She has been sleeping through the night at last.  Occasionally she still wakes up for a moment, and I go to her right away and get her settled again.  But she is doing amazing, she has even been taking her naps in there (we still put her to sleep).  It is life changing when she can finally sleep through moving around, rolling over, and even being transferred from car seat to crib.

She did this even despite her cold (or maybe it made her extra tired?).  We ended up taking her to the Dr's to be checked because of her cough.  They said it was just a virus, maybe a mild ear infection, but she never needed to get the prescription filled.   She also got her last DTP shot.  And still continued to sleep!

We had adventures in exploring tools to suck snot out of babies' noses.  We tried a couple of types of aspirators/bulb syringes and then also bought the Nose Frieda, that you suck through a tube to get the snot out.  She hates all of them and screams and screams at the torture of it all.  I guess the Nose Frieda works pretty well (Jason does it... you have to suck really really hard) and I do like that you at least don't have to jam it up her nose, just put it at the base of the nostril.  I feel like it is less pokey.  Hopefully we won't have to use it again soon.

Cordelia crawls and crawls and stands and falls and bonks herself on things now.  A few little bumps on the forehead or chin.  Her legs are getting even stronger.  I wonder if she is going to stand up on her own soon??

Her top teeth are still trying to come in.  I have been expecting them any day since January, but I think we are getting much closer.  I can see the white under her gums and now it seems like it is getting to the bottom.  So exciting.  She rubs them with her tongue, but they don't seem to be hurting her too much.  She is her happy, smiley self.

We are awaiting for Mom-Mom and Grandpa to visit at the end of the month.  If they weren't going to come, we were going to make the trek to see them, though it could only have been for the weekend.  I have been very frustrated that they have only seen Cordelia 3 times since she was born.  I feel like they have missed out on so much, it is a shame they don't know their granddaughter.  My mom said maybe they would visit at the end of February but they didn't.  So they will have missed her at 9 months, but at least they will see her at 10 months.  And again at 12 months for her birthday.

I am already starting to think about her party!  It's not far away!  

9 Months Old

We made it... as much time on the outside as on the inside.  Kinda a big deal, right?  It's crazy to see how much growth happens in the time it also takes your body to make a baby.  One year ago we were going on our babymoom to Santa Cruz.  Who would have been able to imagine that a year later we would have our adorable, sunny, curious Cordelia just as she is now.  Couldn't have imagined it at anywhere near as good as she turned out!

I would also have never imagined living at the double wide.  I'been here so many times in the last seven years and now it's my home.  Moving went well, kind of a blur.  Jason came in and painted, making the place feel a little bit more "ours".  We are starting to go through boxes.  The living room has come together, even with a play area for Cordelia and the other rooms are making some progress.  Cordelia's room is going to be so cute, and even bigger.  Yes, we are enjoying so much more Space.  Our apartment was always a mess, with no where to put stuff and definitely not enough room for a baby on the move.  Cordelia is crawling, pulling up, standing and trying to cruise.  Go go go!  She finds every bit or scrap of stuff on the ground.  Fortunately, she hasn't really grasped "finger food" and doesn't put everything immediately into her mouth.  She's had some puffs and I'm glad to see her start to chew a bit, but she can't self feed.  She got one in her mouth, but it was a fluke so far!

She is teething like crazy.  Her gums are all puffy and you can see white behind the skin.  Only a matter of time until some top teeth!  We also have started putting a cortizone cream on her neck... finally a little improvement.  Wish we'd started months ago.

New house, new bed!  C is back in her crib and Jason is back in his proper bed.  She starts the night in her crib.  But she doesn't sleep through the night any more, being on her own.  Sometimes I am able to make her lie back down and she goes back to sleep without having to be picked up, so progress!  She never ever used to do that, just at the end of December.  But often she hits a point of light sleep and lots of moving around.  I can put her back to sleep for a couple minutes and then she stirs and cries again.  I don't leave her to cry.  Cordelia doesn't stop.... she just escalates....  If she doesn' go back down or it's too close to my alarm going off I just take her to bed.

She has a cold now and I'm getting it too.  I hate when she is too snotty to nurse..... the ultimate tragedy.

Good luck tonight Baby C!!!

Nursing

Cordelia loves to nurse.  Her milkies are so dear and precious to her.  When she is nursing, she is happy, relaxed, and comforted.  Often Cordelia nurses to sleep for a nap, and always to go down for the night.  We always nurse on my nursing pillow at the couch or in the bedroom.  When she sees the pillow she gets excited.... or impatient if we don't get to the good stuff fast enough.  Sometimes (often) her little arm is flailing about in the air, or squeezing my throat, grabbing my hair, pulling my lip or putting her little fingers in my mouth.  Everyday, I look down at her at my breast, she sweet little eye lashes, her nose lightly snuffling as she breathes, sometimes she gives a little sigh.  Totally blissed out.  Somedays, I dont really look too long, just long enough to make sure she's on good.  The I pass the time (Cordelia likes to nurse for like at least 40 mins) with tv or my computer.  But I should take a little more time.  My baby will only be a baby for a little while longer.  In 4 month, she will be a year old.  It's going fast, especially with how much growth is happening.  Crawling and pulling up are a thing of ease now.  She's even trying to cruise from moving box to moving box. She babbles a lot, for a while saying mamamamama and something that sounds like 'e-llo.  I think she might be starting to understand the word Dada, as she looks for him to be in the kitchen when I hold her up on the couch.  Also, kitty.  This girl loves her some kitties.

Still, I won't be weaning Cordelia any time soon.  I'm fine nursing a toddler, if that's what she wants.  She'll let me know when she's ready.  We'll see if I'm ready then too. :O

8 Months Old!

Today Cordelia is 8 months old....

Let's see, during month 7 she did some exciting stuff.  She sat in a high chair for the first time at a restaurant. She is continuing to work on crawling and is starting to lift up her butt and be on her hands and knees in proper crawling position.  She can even pull herself forward a little bit, especially if there is something she really wants, like Auntie Alison's phone!

At the beginning of the month Cordelia did have a Physical Therapy appointment about the torticollis of her neck.  Jason took her while I was at work.  She did great and they said her case is extremely mild and we do not have to go back! Yay!  They said to keep her out of the carseat or stroller as much as possible (baby carrier is preferable) and do lots and lots of tummy time.  They also gave her some exercises to work on her righting-reflect... you hold her and tip her to the side and wait for her to straighten out her head.  Jason is much better at it than me.  I'm glad we do not have to do any thing where we have to hold her head while she resists or cries, like I was imagining.

This month, I also spent more time away from C than ever before.  I have attended to school-related classes after work now.  They were really good... as Gillian phrased it... it must be nice to have some time with other adults and to do some professional development.  This is TRUE.  Plus, the classes were something I really enjoyed and was really interested in.  Plus, even as tough as it was to be away from Cordelia for sooo long, let's face facts.  She was still awake to see me when I got home!

My last two posts were about how sleep was going, or not going.  For the last few weeks, we have completely abandoned the crib.  Cordelia sleeps with me and Jason has voluntarily moved to our floor mattress.  That's makes a bit more room in the bed (our bed is small) and also keeps the cats away.  LBC keeps trying to get between us and sit on Cordelia.  She has no boundaries, and we don't want a repeat of the scratch on her eyelid.  (It still hasn't vanished... she may have a scar!? fortunately so tiny.)
Co sleeping is great.  Cordelia stills wakes up several times in the night, but I can soothe her without picking her all the way up.  Also, I am only having to nurse her in the night on very rare occasions.  My boobs are still in shock to not be used and feel horribly full upon waking up.

Cordelia's naps are still pretty short.  She fights going to sleep.  She's afraid she will miss something.  Also, I tried to set up a "nap routine" and she started fighting it too, instead of getting used to it. She was like, oh no!  This is a trick to make me go to sleep.  I thought babies loved routines and consistency for a schedule.  But Cordelia learns there is a pattern to things and once she wises up--- the battle begins.  That's how I knew she was feeling pretty sick this weekend, when she took two 2 hour naps.  What baby is this?!  She was so congested she couldn't nurse and I fixed her a bottle.  I have never given her a bottle, but she knew just what to do and gobbled it up.  I was then able to nurse her a bit after, to top her off.  She wasn't flipping out by then and could handle it much better.

Other changes are on the horizon that I am very anxious about.  We are going to move.  We are buying my brother and sister in law's mobile home (and they are moving to a real house).  I love our apartment, but it is getting too expensive and a bit small for a crawling baby to be, and it is not very accommodating for houseguests. The doublewide has lots more space-- two bedroom, two bathroom, lots of storage, even laundry.  We can't afford to buy a house, so this is a pretty good compromise for more space and cheaper monthly price.  I hope this is the right thing to do for Cordelia.  I am going to miss our home very much.  We lived here since 2010, and it was nice to live in a place for longer than one year.  We are currently starting the process of going through our stuff and boxing it up.  Ug,  the next few weeks will be insane.  I wonder how long it will take us to get settled.

2014!

We got to ring in the New Year for our baby girl!  Welcome to 2014!  Cordelia is 7 months old and adorable!  She can scoot around in a circle on the floor and also go backwards.  She can push up, but not lift up her butt.  She loves to play with toys, and on stuffed animals and blankets her favorite thing is .... the tag!  On her wacky dog, she loves to gum the tag to death.

Sleep training was a bust.  Cordelia can cry for over an hour.  Cry it out was not my plan, but I felt like we were never giving her the chance to put herself to sleep if we always picked her up.  They say some babies will cry for 15 minutes... half an hour... an hour.... no.  Cordelia would sometimes quiet for a moment, giving me hope, but then she cried for over an hour and a half.  Or she just screamed if I sat with her, but wasn't picking her up.  It was hell for all involved.  She seems to be having separation anxiety and crying even if we move out of sight and too far away from her.  So no progress forward, even a step back.  We are now co sleeping.  She starts the night in her bed.  But when she wakes up, I just put her in our bed.  And then: she sleeps.  She sleeps all night.  She doesn't ask to nurse.  She just sleeps, in comfort, in warmth, in the safety of being with mommy.  So this is the turning point.  Sleeping through the night, but in our bed.  So hopefully she will start doing it in her bed. (yeah right, I know!)  Months from now, we will be struggling to get her out of our bed.  We are trading one "bad" habit for another.  But it is what feels right to both me and Jason.  In the days we were focusing on her sleep so much, we were all becoming really stressed.  She was not her usual happy self.  We weren't playing as much, because we were trying to start bed and nap routines earlier.  And the minute she would start to sleepy, she would start to fight it, scared to go to sleep on her own.  The last two days she has also had a bit of a runny nose, thanks to me.

Yesterday, I swear she saw a picture of Jason on the wall and recognized it as Daddy. He was at work, but she got SO EXCITED about the picture.  Was it the frame? Could she see her reflection?  I think she saw Daddy and was happy to see him!